Istanbul New Airport is a new airport and every time the number of flights is increasing. It is expected to reach at more than 300 different flight points in a very short time. Istanbul Airport is known as the world’s largest airport with more than 70 million square meters and 200 million passengers capacity per year. With Havaist shuttles and buses, passengers can reach the airport easily, there are also new metro lines under construction. You can reach Sultanahmet from the airport by taking Havaist. First you need to reach Taksim, then you can take metro or bus to reach Sultanahmet. If you would like to take IETT bus to reach Sultanahmet from the airport, you can take H-2 bus from the airport bus station to go to Mecidiyeköy (Şişli), then 77A bus from Şişli Merkez station to reach Sultanahmet.

If you need to go somewhere at the Anatolian side first, it might be better to take a flight to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. If you would like to reach Sultanahmet from this airport, you can take Havabus to arrive Taksim, then take metro or bus to reach Sultanahmet. To see the amazing Bosphorus view in this journey, from the airport you may take E11 bus or Havatas shuttle to come to Kadıköy, then take ferry to Eminönü. After that you should take the nostalgic tram from Sirkeci station to go to Sultanahmet.

To conclude, Istanbul is an amazing city that you can easily take a flight to and then travel by shuttles, metro, trams, buses or taxi. There are many alternatives to travel with and you will definitely enjoy your trip to the city!

Whether A Church or A Mosque – Discover Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul

Are you planning to visit Istanbul? Do you know Hagia Sophia, or so-called ‘eight wonder of the world’ by East Roman Philon, is in Istanbul? Museum is definitely one of the museums that you should add to your to-do list in Istanbul. Looking at its name, Hagia Sophia, also called Ayasofya in Turkish and Santa Sofia in Latin comes from Greek which means ‘Church of the Divine Wisdom’. To whom curious about its history, it was built in 6th century by the order of Emperor Justinianos. Anthemios (Tralles) and Isidoros (Miletus) are the famous architectures of this prominent monument. You may be surprised to hear that, these architectures are said to have 100 architectures working under them, who in turn had 100 workers working with them in building this amazing monument.

Actually, the current Hagia Sophia is the third one built in the same location, with different architectural styles. Previous two Hagia Sophias were built from wood and destroyed by fire and riots.

Although it served as a church for 916 years, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque when Istanbul was conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmed. Then it continued to serve as a mosque until 1935, when Atatürk and Council of Ministers decided to turn it into a museum. You can visit Hagia Sophia and enjoy Byzantine mosaics, architectural drawings, amazing structural incarnations, such as Mighty Dome (32m in diameter and 55m high), Omphalos (place in which the Byzantine emperors were crowned), Weeping Column, (which is said that if your thumb emerges from the copper-faced hole moist, you will be cured of all your ailments) and etc. If you want to enter the museum, you can buy a museum card at the entrance which will also able you to visit other museums for free. A piece of note for museum fans: You can visit Hagia Sophia in European Night of Museum Week, enjoy the mystic ambience of fascinating

Hagia Sophia Museum under darkness of the night.